| FLORICULTURE TECHNICAL | |||
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Introduction
More than
90 100% EOUs have been set up in the last five years with an investment
of over 200 crores. Most of them however, are running into losses today,
mainly because of infrastructural weaknesses like lack of cold storages
and handling facilities at the airports, high air freight charges, frequent
disruption in time schedule of flights and lack of round the week cargo
clearing facility at the airports. The reluctance of banks to fund projects
because of poor past performance is also sighted by many as another major
reason for the relative failure of the industry. Ironically, experts consider
the quality of flowers produced in India excellent and having tremendous
export potential. Ornamental plant research in India is of recent origin. During early years, research in floriculture did not get much attention. Floriculture research was strengthened with the establishment of Division of Floriculture and Landscape Gardening at the IIHR, Bangalore, in 1969 and Division of Vegetable Crops and Floriculture at the IARI, New Delhi, in 1971. The All-India Co-ordinated Floriculture Improvement Project was also started by the ICAR during 1970-71. The Division of Floriculture and Landscaping was established in 1983 at the IARI, New Delhi. Simultaneously research work on ornamental crops was started in different agricultural universities and research institutes. India holds a very rich germplasm collection of different ornamental crops, which consists of both indigenous and exotic plants. Work on varietal improvement has been carried out utilizing large diversity in germplasm, and significant achievements have been made in developing new ornamental varieties with many superior traits. Various flowers, their varieties and varietal improvements are given below. Rose breeding has received highest importance in India, and as a result about 545 rose varieties were evolved during the last 55 years. The main objective of rose improvement has been to evolve varieties with attractive flower colour, form and fragrance, floriferousness, disease and pest resistance, and suitable for growing under tropical and subtropical conditions. There are three types of commercially grown roses. They are Hybrid Tea, Floribundas and Spray roses. Only hybrid tea and floribundas are grown under green house for export in India. The hybrid tea types are having a long stem that varies from 50-120 cms and big size blooms from 3.02-3.5 cms. These flowers are bigger and more often tender than the floribunda type under ideal conditions. This type is expected to yield about 140-180 stems per sq. mtr. But under Indian conditions the average yield obtained by many units is 100-130 stems per sq.mtr. These flowers are liked mainly in USA, Japan and other European countries. They fetch higher price than Floribuncdas. As planting is done with a close density it inhibits branches. Such plants grow up to a height of 2mtrs. Floribundas or sweethearts type produces flowers with stem length of 35-60 cms. And bud size from 2.0-2.5 cms. They yield much higher than hybrid teas producing as many as 300 flowers per sq. mtr. Per year but the average yield obtained under India conditions is around 130-150 stems per sq. mtr. These types of flowers are much popular with the Dutch and German Consumers. These flowers fetch around 30-40% less price than the hybrid tea. According to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, ICAR, Government of India, in 1999-2000, rose varieties Dr. B. P. Pal, Blue Delight, Anurag, Ashirwad, Ico, Ambassador, Blue Ocean and Aditya were promising at the national level; Ashirwad, Anurag and Siddhartha for exhibition purpose; Black Delight, Blue Ocean and Aditya for garden display and Ico, Ambassador and Kanchi for cut and loose flowers at Hyderabad.
Gladiolus is one of the most important
bulbous flowering crops grown commercially for cut-flower trade in India.
The main emphasis on gladiolus improvement has been on the development of
varieties having attractive colour and large size of florets mainly for
cut-flower, long spikes, more number of well spaced and large-sized florets,
good corm multiplication ability and field resistance to diseases, particularly
Fusarium wilt. The success of G. psittacinus hybrid at the NBRI inspired
research in evolving different coloured varieties suitable for growing in
the plains and resulted in the release of 11 cultivars. Notable among these
are Jwala, Priyadarshini and Gazal, all of which are open-pollinated selections.
Further, through systematic hybridization involving gladiolus Friendship
(2n = 60) with G. tristis (2n = 30), 8 new triploid (2n = 45) cultivars
were evolved.
Chrysanthemum is recognized
as a potent flower crop in India. It is used as a cut flower for interior
decoration and as a loose flowers for making garlands, wreaths and for religious
offerings. Work on evolving new chrysanthemum varieties has been under way
mainly at the NBRI, Lucknow, and the IIHR, Bangalore. The aim of breeding
chrysanthemum has been to evolve exhibition, cut flower and garland types.
A new approach has also been adopted to breed varieties, which naturally
bloom in different months without light and temperature control. At the
IIHR, Bangalore. Emphasis had been on breeding high-yielding cultivars for
garland and pot-culture and 5 new cultivars have been developed. The PAU,
Ludhiana, and TNAU, Coimbatore, each has evolved 4 cultivars. Apart from
institutional efforts, some amateur and professional growers have also developed
a good number of chrysanthemum cultivars.
New varieties, Mutant
No. 9 (for cut flower and loose flowers) and Hybrid No. 10, Hybrid No. 11,
Hybrid No. 12, Hybrid No. 13, Sunil, Indira, Sonaly, Tara, Selection 5 and
Shyamal (for loose flowers) were suitable for commercial flower production.
Shyamal, Baggi, IIHR Sel. 5 and Indira were promising at Pune, whereas Basanti,
Sharadmala, Baggi, Red Gold, Co 1, IIHR 13 and Vasantika at Hyderabad. Indira,
IIHR Sel 6, Meera and Red Gold performed well in respect of flower yield
at Udaipur.
Gerbera is an attractive cut-flower crop, and the flowers last for a longer duration in vase. The magnitude of the genetic diversity has been studied in 31 strains of Gerbera utilizing 9 characters. Significant differences exist between varieties for all the 9 characters. The study indicated the presence of wide genetic diversity among the strains.
Bougainvillea is an
important and popular flowering plant grown widely throughout the country.
Through hybridization, sports and mutation breeding, about 150 varieties
have been developed in India. The Division of Floriculture and Landscaping,
IARI, New Delhi, has been designated as the International Registration Authority
for Bougainvillea Cultivars, and the first checklist described more than
300 cultivars of bougainvillea. However, breeding work is hampered largely
because of the extensive pollen and seed sterility or both. The choice of
female and male parents is limited only to relatively fertile types, which
more often are not good cultivars. However, fertility can be restored by
the colchicine-induced polyploidy which has given a wider choice for breeding
bougainvillea cultivars. Thus a number of very promising, colourful and
floriferous, often bicoloured, hybrid bougainvillea (triploid, tetraploid
and aneuploid) ideal for pot-culture have became handy. Bloched-bract varieties
like Begum Sikander, Wajid Ali Shah and Mary Palmer Special provide a visual
feast in pots. Five varieties of bougainvillea developed by Dr B P Pal in 1959, viz. Dr R R Pal, Sonnet, Stanza, Spring Festival and Summer Time, are popular even today. At Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Bombay, several varieties were developed through mutation breeding with the use of gamma rays. The IIHR, Bangalore, has also released 6 cultivars, viz. Chitravati, Dr H B Singh, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Purple Wonder, Sholay, and Usha. A colchicine-induced mutant with bright magenta bracts has been isolated from cv Zakariana. A number of promising seedlings and bud sports with variegated leaves are now under evaluation. In hibiscus, hybridization and selection work at the IIHR, Bangalore, has led to the release of 25 varieties which are floriferous and bear attractive flowers. The TNAU, Coimbatore, has developed an inter-generic hybrid (Hibiscus rosasinensis x Malvaiscus arboreus) named Thilagum (Carmine red) in addition to a seedling selection Punnagai. Another hybrid named Co 1 hibiscus has also been released by the TNAU. It is floriferous and produces apricot-yellow flowers with signal-red throat. Lalbagh, Bangalore, has also developed 22 attractive varieties.
Systematic research
work on jasmine breeding was first started at the TNAU, Coimbatore, in early
seventies, and at the IIHR, Bangalore, in mid-seventies. J. auriculatum,
J. sambac and J. grandiflorum are commercially important sources of fresh
flower and perfume. The objective of breeding for high essential oil content
in jasmine differs from that of the fresh flower market. For essential oil
extraction, the objective is high oil productivity. Flowers with short corolla
tube and high yield are preferred, since the corolla tube contributes mostly
plant waxes. The objectives for breeding of jasmine for fresh flower market
are high yield of lower buds spread over many months of the year, long and
soft corolla tube, bolder buds and better keeping quality. Surabhi a high-yielding variety from J. grandiflorum has been developed by clonal selection at the IIHR, Bangalore. The potential flower yield is 10,000 kg/ha with high concrete recovery. Orchids produce remarkably attractive flowers with long lasting quality. Conventional plant breeding has contributed to the generation of wide range of hybrids in orchids. In India, breeding work on orchids was started at the IIHR, Bangalore, during mid-seventies. The institute has developed 2 hybrids, viz. IIHR 164 and IIHR 38, in Vanda and Dendrobium respectively. Dahlias with their most gorgeously coloured flowers are very popular in the Indian gardens and are widely used for garden display and indoor decoration. In dahlia, several varieties have been developed under giant decorative (11) medium decorative (6), small decorative (6) and cactus group (1), all by amateur growers. Hippeastrum is an important cut-flower, grown in beds, borders and pots. Several varieties have been released by the NBRI, Lucknow. They include cv. Kiran a triploid, cv. Samrat a tetraploid and Jyoti a semi-double. The IARI, New Delhi, has released variety Suryakiran. A variety named Anjali has been developed from an inter-varietal cross between Bouquet and White Favourite. In India, tuberose occupies a prime position in floriculture industry. Two mutants, viz. Rajat Rekha and Swarna Rekha in single flowered a double flowered tuberose, respectively, were obtained through gamma irradiation (1 to 5 kr) at the NBRI. In Rajat Rekha there are silvery white streaks along the middle of the blade, whereas in Swarna Rekha golden-yellow streaks are present along the margins of the blade.
Crotons are popular ornamental shrubs with colourful
and attractively shaped leaves. Most of the breeding work on varietal development
of this crop has been carried out at Lalbagh, Bangalore, and at the IIHR,
Bangalore. At the IIHR, Bangalore, 15 hybrids of crotons have been developed.
Systematic hybridization and selection programme in amaranthus has resulted in the development of 8 cvs, viz. Amar Kiran, Amar Poet, Amar Prithu, Amar Parvati, Amar suikiran, Amar Tarang, Amar Raktab and Amar Mosaic. These represent various combinations of leaf shape and colour, and are entirely new to floriculture trade. A telraploid cultivar Amar Tetra was evolved through colchiploidy. Amar Shola, a hybrid amaranth, is a selection from a cross within Amaranthus caudatus complex involving a grain type and an ornamental type. Tetra giant snapdragons were raised at the NBRI, Lucknow, from some F1 hybrids. The resultant tetraploids are hardier, sturdier, stockier and shorter than corresponding diploids. They have generally more flowering stems with conspicuously larger, deeper-coloured flowers, that are long-lasting than their diploid counterparts. From the germplasm collections at the IIHR, Bangalore, 25 pure lines were developed by a single plant selection. Of these AST 1 and AST 2 were found very promising. Hybridization followed by repeated selection resulted in 6 promising pure lines, which were numbered IIHR 35, IIHR 18, IIHR 19, IIHR 26, IIHR 31 and IIHR 35. According to DARE in 1999-2000 China aster Kamini, Poornima, Phule Ganesh Pink and Phule Ganesh Violet were recommended for release at the national level. In marigold, a F1 hybrid triploid has been developed at the NBRI, Lucknow, by using male-sterile African diploid marigold (Tagetes erecta) and male-fertile French tetraploid (T. patula). The F1 hybrids are dwarf, highly floriferous and free flowering with uniform golden-yellow heads that bear nearly one-and-a half times more flowers by weight per unit area. At the IARI, New Delhi, a F1 hybrid of French marigold obtained from crosses between Petite Orange x Rusty Red and Naughty Marrieta x Pygmy showed increase in the weight and number of flowers respectively than that of parents. In African marigold, F1 hybrids between Hawaii x Cupid Orange and Alaska x Spungold were superior to parents. At the IARI, 4 F1 hybrids have been developed from intervarietal crosses in hollyhock. These are Pusa Apricot Supreme, Pusa Pastel Pink Supreme, Pusa Pink Beauty and Pusa Yellow Beauty. By recurrent selection from the irradiated seeds of Zinnia elegans, a mixed coloured variety resistant to leaf-curl virus, has been evolved at the IARI, New Delhi.
Research is being carried out
at various centres on the identification, diagnosis and management of viruses
occurring in carnation, chrysanthemum, dahlia, gladiolus, hippeastrum, hollyhock,
narcissus, petunia and zinnia. Attempts have been made to produce virus-free
plantlets in petunia and gladiolus. BYMV has been eliminated from gladiolus.
Antiviral agents have also been used to eliminate virus in explant cultivars. |
